SHIVA
by Pyremon Infernos
Summary: Spinoff of the fantastic zoidfic Anizoids that I participate in. The Black Dragon Team and their leader before they became the renowned team they are in Anizoids. PG13 till Chapter 7
1. Prologue

This is an authorized spin-off, starring some of my characters from the original Anizoids fic by Wolfkcing, so some of the material depends on having read at least half of that fic(which was around when this one was made). But it's an excellent fic and the author's brilliant, so it's well worth a read.

**SHIVA**

**Prologue**

Another day, another battle won. This Zoid team was laughably pathetic. To the point Shiva began to wonder if the ZBC was letting just anyone into Class S these days. The purple-haired girl turned her gaze to where James and Cooper were sitting counting their share of the prize money. Axel silently piloted the whale king the team used to get around and paid no attention to the others. Sighing, Shiva got up and went to her room, locking the door behind her.

Shiva's room contained the basics: a bed, a closet, a dresser, and a full- body mirror, along with a door leading to her own bathroom. On her bed sat a black box labeled "R.U.", and atop it lay the sleeping form of what looked like a holographic monitor lizard, Shiva's trusted anizoid and pet. The digital reptile opened one of its eyes and flicked out its long forked tongue, pleased to see its owner. Shiva was the only person it was ever tame around. To everyone else it often acted feral or unruly.

Shiva walked past the anizoid and turned towards her reflection in the mirror. She had on her usual loose red shirt that was the color of blood, along with baggy black cargo pants that were held in place by a studded leather belt. She also wore her black boots with the metal plating on the toe parts, black fingerless gloves, and a loose black leather jacket that had the sleeves torn off, exposing her pale, slender arms. Her face was pale - hell, probably her whole body; not that she really cared anyway. Her fierce green eyes maintained their angry, determined look, and her purple hair reached down to her chin on one side, while her bangs draped forward like scythes. None of her clothes fit her properly, considering her entire wardrobe consisted of dark, masculine clothing that tended to give her a masculine appearance that she'd been aiming for, as there wasn't much she could do as her face still had that definite female look to it that was often accompanied by her trademark scowl. Being feminine was never something Shiva was interested in, for reasons that often only she found logical. All to the point she had long-since abandoned her real name and took on the nickname she and the Zoid pilots she had defeated knew all too well...


	2. Initiation

**Chapter 1**

INITIATION

_4 Years ago..._

Clad only in a towel, Ayane Makino stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. The reflection she knew too well: Her rather pale skin, her dark green eyes, her chin-length purple hair, and her fairly slender body concealed by the towel. Like this, she truly did look like a girl. When she was dressed was always another matter entirely. From what her father had once told her, she definitely took after her mother, alot. Not exactly something she felt any pride in like she probably should have. Mother wasn't a bad person, per se, but she was never very strong. Hence why she had died when Ayane was born. On the other hand, her father was always a strong person, and that was an aspect she seemed to inherit from him.

She got dressed, putting on her usual black t-shirt, baggy black cargos, and her black boots. All of which were male clothes that concealed her waist, hips, and frame fairly well. Lack of a mother may have factored into her taste for gothic male clothes, or maybe that was just who she was. She'd seen plenty of girly-girls in her life. The ones who giggled like cretins, talking about hot male zoid pilots and bitching about female ones, wearing clothes with more colors than a rainbow and with the indecency level of a bikini. Not something she wanted to waste her life doing. Thank god Mother wasn't like that either.

All that aside, she'd been looking forward to today. She headed downstairs to go have something to eat while she waited for her dad to get back.

_Afternoon..._

"Congratulations, Ayane." The girl's father told her. "You've done exceptionally well training to be a pilot in both ground and air combat. It's time to finally organize your team. They'll be arriving shortly."

Ayane nodded quietly. She'd been waiting to fight in the official zoid battles for the longest time. This world clearly revolved around zoid battles, after all. Strong people piloted. Ayane had no desire on being a weak person. She'd see to that by any means necessary. And for that, she knew she'd have to train her teammates and herself as rigorously as possible. No questions asked. As she concluded her thoughts on that matter a blackish-gray monitor lizard came into the room and sat over at the girl's side. Ayane glanced down at her pet and stroked its head.

"Kali..." She said quietly. "Glad you finally decided to come down." The big reptile flicked its long tongue out. "A few new friends will be coming over in awhile. I want you on your best behavior."

_3 hours later..._

"Alright boys..." Ayane said sternly to a trio of teenagers as she paced back and forth in the hanger, Kali nearby narrowing her yellow eyes at the boys. "If you were expecting an easy time, parties, and other crap like that, then you've picked the wrong team." She paused for a moment to give a glance at them, as if giving them a chance to answer back. Nothing. She paced again. "On the other hand, if you're able to stand lots of training, battles against REAL zoid teams, and me, who expects you to WIN those battles against REAL zoid teams and nothing short of perfection, then welcome to the team." Ayane stopped pacing again and turned her gaze at her new subordinates again. Inspiring loyalty and respect was her first task as leader of a group like this. The first one was about 19, and was a pretty big, muscular guy. Ayane's dad told her that this guy, Axel, once had a job as a bouncer at a bar. Judging from his oxlike size and build, she had no trouble believing that. He was also clearly a "muscle" guy. Needs someone to tell him what to do, and he'll do it with little trouble. Ayane knew he wouldn't be much trouble for her. He wore combat boots that were a little worn at the edges, like he'd had them for some time, along with grayish pants and a black tanktop. His dark brown hair was spiked up and his features were hard.

As for the other two, the younger one was pale, like Ayane herself was, and had rather unruly spiky brown hair and a rather gangly frame under that worn gray buttoned shirt, black jeans, boots and duster. Ayane had been told his name was Cooper. The same went for the remaining guy. He was about her age: 16, and just a little taller than she was. He had a duster like the other guy did, plus loose dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt and boots. His auburn hair was slicked back. He also had an uncertain look on his face. Ayane walked up to him. She didn't know his name, but she'd find out soon as well.

"What's your name?" She asked. Shocked by the sudden confrontation, the boy couldn't answer back. Ayane's gaze took on a hint of disappointment. "If you don't answer me in 5 seconds I'll call you "No-Name" from now on."

"It's James!" the boy finally answered.

"Alright, James..." Ayane said. "I suggest a little more confidence. You won't get far in my team, or life otherwise."

"So a girl is gonna be kicking us around from now on?" The young boy muttered. Next thing he knew, he was on the floor in a headlock, courtesy of the purple-haired girl.

"Yes. That's right." She said. "And if you like your head where it is, you'll refrain from giving me any further trouble." She tightened her grip. "Got it?" The boy meekly nodded. "Good." She released him and returned to her spot and faced the group again.

"Understand that tomorrow at noon we have a battle scheduled. I expect the training you've already received will be satisfactory for now." She folded her arms. "Are there any intelligent questions?"

James raised his hand.

"What is it?" She asked.

"You got our names, we never got yours. What should we call you?" James fidgeted nervously. After what this girl did to Cooper, he knew she wasn't someone to toy with. Axel, who remained his usual stoic self the whole time, glanced at her patiently as well.

"Call me Shiva." Ayane answered.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	3. Enter The Black Dragon

**Chapter 2**

ENTER THE BLACK DRAGON

_Battlefield, day..._

"Sing ONE MORE verse of that song, and I'll staple your lips shut!" The purple-haired goth threatened. "Is that clear?" The two boys nodded and Shiva released them. Axel remained quiet, driving the team's new Whale King, more than thrilled Shiva had put a stop to that annoying song those two have been singing over and over for the past half hour. Well, the song wasn't as bad as the voices singing them. Shiva shifted in her seat, and got back to eating the hot dog she had been eating for lunch.

"Hey Axel..." Shiva asked. "How long till we get there?" The silent man mumbled something that sounded like "About 20 minutes" after glancing at the onscreen map where a glowing blip indicated the designated battlefield they'd be attending. The purple-haired girl leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling, remembering her father's worlds.

"Don't let me down..."

With the zoid the two of them had restored, Shiva would find so excuse for botching this battle. Especially with the rigorous training she and hopefully the rest of the team had received in advance.

_Later..._

A black Storm Sworder accompanied by three black Reddlers made up Shiva's team. The enemy team consisted of a sky-blue Command Wolf, a Cannon Tortoise, an Iron Kong, and a Gunsniper. Shiva examined each of them from her Storm Sworder's cockpit. The owner of that Command Wolf must have been really vain, because it was definately the shiniest zoid she'd ever seen. Maybe its owner liked to see himself in it or something, because it had clearly been shined up like a new car. The Cannon Tortoise was armed with a Heavy Beam cannon curved in a forty-five degree angle, clearly made to take down an airborne zoid. It also seemed to have a pair of missile launchers equipped to the sides. The zoid was clearly designed to be a stationary unit. The Iron Kong was well-armed and supporting a pair of laser rifles on its shoulders, and a some extra guns on the wrists and head. The Gunsniper, however, was a real paradox. The owner had to be a complete idiot. No other explanation. Its mouth had been equipped with a charged particle cannon. The zoid would literally destroy itself if that thing actually worked properly. The owner still kept its wrist guns, though.

Finally, the Judge capsule dropped from the heavens and crashed into the earth. Seconds later, it rose from the crater. The capsule opened, and the small white humanoid robot began its speech.

'Scanning... scanning..." It said in a low mechanical voice. "Area scanned! Battlefield set up! The Black Dragon Team vs. The Hip Team! Battle mode 0982. Ready... FIGHT!" The judge shouted, spreading his arms out.

"Like, watch this boys!" A girl's voice shouted from the Gunsniper. The zoid opened its mouth and the charged particle gun began to build up energy. Shiva could almost hear sighs of disappointment from the Gunsniper pilot's teammates. Shiva opened communication to her teammates.

"Launch when I say..." She began. The cannon was soon ready to fire. "NOW!" All four zoids sprung into the air as the beam was fired. The impact of the recoil was simply too much for the small zoid to take and it was hurled out of control clear across the battlefield and into a rock wall. Luckily the pilot ejected before the crash.

"SEE, Jess?" A female voice said from the Iron Kong "I told you that was a stupid idea. A Gunsniper just can't control something that strong!" The other pilot was too busy sitting in front of the decimated zoid bawling.

James took on the Command Wolf, which in turn fired rapidly at his Reddler. A shot managed to damage the left hind leg of the dragonlike zoid. James cursed a bit, but was relieved the wings weren't damaged. The Wolf's pilot opened communication with him, revealing a guy that looked like every girl's dreamboat. Complete with perfect hair and letterman. This guy clearly knew it too, due to the snobby smirk he had.

"What's this?" The young man asked haughtily. "I wish to see the face of my opponent, and I find a scrungy nobody? Get out of my sight!" The young man aimed and fired at James's zoid, blowing it clean out of the sky.

"Great shooting, Dan." The Iron Kong's owner shouted, caught up in a fight with Cooper and Axel.

Shiva flew above and around the heavily-armed Cannon Tortoise. She caught sight of James's Reddler plummeting to the ground with a crash. "James! Is your zoid still active?" She asked, worried he may have been knocked out of the battle.

"No, I'm fine, but my zoid's grounded, thanks to that pompous a-hole with the shiny Command Wolf!" The boy replied. "But I'm not down..." He added as he fired a shot at the neck of the Command Wolf, bringing it down on the spot and subjecting it to a command system freeze. James barely had time to celebrate when a final shot by the Wolf knocked his zoid out of the battle as well.

Shiva groaned as her communication with James ended and turned her full attention back on the cannon tortoise, just in time to see it fire a missile at the side of her zoid, giving it a decent amount of damage to the chest. "I was careless..." she thought to herself as she pulled the zoid up to avoid the rest of the Tortoise's shots and anti-aircraft missiles. One narrowly-dodged Heavy Beam Cannon shot later and communication with the Tortoise opened and a scowling young man appeared on the screen.

"Quit moving around pretty-boy!" The pilot shouted at Shiva. The girl made a mental smirk. Just as she'd hoped, the male clothing she wore did a good job concealing her figure. She'd heard somewhere that male pilots tended to hold back against female ones. Chivalry or some crap like that she assumed. Of course, this overconfidence often cost them the fight, but Shiva had no desire to face someone who held back because of gender issues. She launched the Storm Sworder's forehead spike into the beam cannon of the Cannon Tortoise as it was charging it up. The jam caused the massive cannon to backfire and destroy a good portion of the zoid's torso and subject its pilot to a command system freeze that put it out of the battle, leaving only the Iron Kong left to contend with.

"Cooper! Axel!" Shiva called out, re-opening communication with the two pilots. "Continue circling the zoid until it runs out of ammo, then we destroy its arms and that should cause the zoid to topple over. Got that?"

Her co-pilots nodded and she turned the Storm Sworder to face the hulking gorilla-like zoid. A cocky female voice came from it.

"Well, well, so now it's just me? Well I'm not as easy to take down as my friends!" The girl said in a snobby tone. The Iron Kong suddenly opened fire, shooting lasers and missiles in seemingly every direction. One missile managed to tag Cooper's Reddler in the back, but the zoid managed to stay in the air long enough to fire at the missile pod, which in turn exploded on the Kong's arm, severely damaging the zoid's bulky arm as a result, Cooper's Reddler slowly lost altitude afterward. The Iron Kong's pilot cursed loudly and used the Kong's shoulder-mounted laser rifles, shooting like a maniac, attempting to blast the remaining zoids that buzzed around it like huge flies. The pilot suddenly heard a tell-tale click- click, indicating that she was out of ammo.

"Oh, sh-" Before she could finish her sentance, the Reddlers and the Storm Sworder all attacked the Zoid's head at once, and the wing blades of the Storm Sworder buried themselves in the back of the massive Iron Kong's neck. The zoid toppled forward, and collapsed to the ground, its pilot subjected to a command system freeze. Shiva's teammates let out a sigh of relief that the battle had concluded.

"The battle is OVER! The battle is OVER!" The Judge yelled out. "The winner is... THE BLACK DRAGON TEAM!"

Shiva landed her black Storm Sworder on the ground in front of the fallen Iron Kong, taking a few deep breaths. "Not bad for our first battle..." She thought to herself. "Not bad..." She took a few moments to finally regain her breath and glance over at James's fallen zoid, as well as the heavy damage inflicted on her own zoid. "But it's still not enough..."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	4. Anubis, The Dark Jackal

**Chapter 3**

ANUBIS, THE DARK JACKAL

_Guylos City. Early evening 3 days later..._

The Black Dragon Team members had now gotten their first true taste of victory, their parents had seen to that by treating them to dinner at a rather decent bar in Guylos City, the largest city of Nyx. Cooper and James had their own conversation over the louder conversations of the parents. Axel, the only one not accompanied by parents, sat quietly and ate his food, while Shiva toned out the lively conversations around her and sank into her own inner thoughts.

"We won, sure, but that team wasn't really THAT hard. Heck, one of them lost for being a complete idiot." She thought to herself. "I can only hope we run into some more formidable opponents someday."

Her thoughts were cut off upon hearing a crash right behind her. She turned and saw a young man maybe a little older then her pushing a younger man against his table.

"Alright, you little shit, hand over the money you owe my superiors. NOW!" The young man ordered. He was about maybe 5'10 or so, with spiky dark brown hair with some black streaks in it, and eyes that were a light and piercing gray. He wore a black tanktop and loose black pants and boots, and a dark red headband with a picture of a jackal's face in the middle. A long black leather duster with some sort of armor plating on the shoulders that seemed to run around the back was laying over his chair. Not someone to be messed with clearly, as the young man he had down on the table looked absolutely terrified. "Now look what you made me do!" The first man continued. "You made me make a scene. My boss is going to have a hard time covering this and explaining to the managers here, you know." He reached into the pocket of his duster and pulled out what was clearly a switchblade and held it to the younger man's throat. "Namely what I'm about to do to you..."

Shiva had had enough. She could care less about the fighting, but did it have to be done HERE! She got up and had her hand clamped firmly on the man's wrist before he saw her. In surprise, he ended up dropping the switchblade and the younger man scrambled off the table and slipped away. The man in black did not look pleased.

"Stay out of this, pretty-boy, or you're gonna be sorry." The man said in a threatening tone, fooled by Shiva's boyish attire. Shiva glared.

"Oh really?" Shiva said, unimpressed now that she had disarmed him. This guy was clearly tough, but when she was angry, so was she. Soon enough everyone couldn't ignore this conflict anymore and were all watching. Some worried, others seeming pleased to have some excitement occur. Both Shiva and the young man looked ready to punch each other.

"Um, excuse me you two." The bartender said from a far corner, clearly wanting to avoid getting them both angry. "Could you not have a confrontation here? You're disturbing the other customers."

Shiva softened her grip on the young man, who sighed with a hint of annoyance and retrieved his duster from his chair and slid it on. The plating on the back was carved into a flat design of a jackal face as well, with two narrowed red eyes. The young man briefly turned around to glare at Shiva. "Next time..." He said sternly. "I won't be so lenient. Trust me, we'll meet again." He grabbed his switchblade and pocketed it, and stormed out of the restaurant. Realizing she's caused enough of a disturbance for one day, Shiva and the rest of the Team and their parents payed for their meal and left the bar, Shiva wondering who that man was and who would have sent him. Didn't matter really. Another battle was coming in a few days, and it'd be another chance to improve.

_2 days later..._

The three black Redlers and single Storm Sworder that made up the Black Dragon Team's zoid arsenal waited on the battlefield patiently for their next opponents to show up. Moments later, a Gustav came in towing a Shield Liger, two HellCats, and a Pteras. The four zoids hopped off and got into position.

Seconds later, the Judge Capsule plummeted from the sky and crashed nearby, the capsule rose from the crater and opened, revealing the white Judge inside.

Shiva leaned back and waited for the Judge to finish his speech. With any luck, this would be a team she'd been hoping for last night.

"Area scanned. Battlefield set up! Battle Mode 0982! The Black Dragon Team vs. The Cats Team! Ready..." The poor Judge failed to complete his speech as another capsule smashed right down on him, only this one was black. Shiva snapped to full attention at this unexpected arrival. The capsule opened, and within was a different Judge. Only this one was black with a ridged visor and spikes on its shoulders. The black Judge cackled maniacally.

"I, the Dark Judge declare this battle taken over by the Nyx Division of the Backdraft Group! You, the Black Dragon Team shall now face off against a team of our own!" As he finished, a new group of zoids entered the field, a trio of black Konig Wolves entered, led by a red and black Geno Breaker. The four new zoids immediately opened fire on the Cats Team's zoids, taking them out of the battle, and just for good measure, the Breaker turned toward the Gustav and fired at it relentlessly till it sustained enough damage. Suddenly, the sky seemed to become covered in some sort of digital dome designed like a night sky. The Dark Judge's laughing fit continued at the sight of the destruction as the enemy zoids came to face Shiva's team. "Battle Mode 0999! No rules, you either win or you lose! The Black Dragon Team vs. The Dark Jackal Team! READY! FIGHT!" With that the Breaker took to the air, moving at twice the speed to be expected from such a zoid, clearly the pilot had installed thrusters to increase the zoid's speed. Shiva's Storm Sworder leapt into the air and prepared to face off with it, ordering her men to handle the Konig Wolves as best they can.

The Breaker fired its laser rifles on its sides repeatedly at the Storm Sworder, eventually landing a grazing blow on the zoid's side and left leg, causing its flight pattern to falter a little but not by much. Shiva cursed and swung the Sworder around to get behind the Breaker, only to be snagged by its pincher claw, helpless. The Sworder was fast, but this zoid was much faster. The Breaker finally opened communications, and Shiva was surprised to discover the pilot.

"So, it's you again. Now who's got the upper hand?" The young man from two nights ago said smirking from within the black t-rexlike zoid's cockpit as the Geno Breaker hurled the Storm Sworder clear across the field, sending it skidding across the sand like a rock skipping over water. James and Cooper, who were doing their best against the Konig Wolves, called out to their fallen team leader, but Shiva was too surprised by the assault the Breaker had dished out to reply. The zoid landed in front of the Sworder, the man laughing cruelly. "Consider this a little payback from last night..." with that, he kicked the fallen sworder in the side and spun it further. From his capsule, the Dark Judge laughed in amusement at the ongoing battle.

"Yes! Yes! Fall before the power of the BackDraft!" The deranged robot sneered as Axel's Reddler was swatted out of the sky by a lucky blow from a Konig Wolf. The Dark Judge's mood changed when the Wolf was hit from behind by James and Cooper, taking it out of the battle.

The Breaker kept its attention on Shiva and her fallen Storm Sworder. "By the way..." The young man said. "I don't think I ever properly introduced myself. I'm Anubis, the BackDraft's top mercenary warrior. Mind telling me yours?"

"Shiva..." the girl answered back, badly bruised from the beating her and her zoid had received. Seeing an opening, Shiva tilted the Sworder's head up and turned its forehead to face the Breaker. "And it's a name you won't forget..." Before Anubis could react, the Sworder used the remainder of its strength to fire its forehead spike into the Geno Breaker's leg, incapacitating the black zoid. Shortly after, Shiva stared blankly at the system freeze on her screen.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Anubis cried out in shock as the leg ceased functioning. It would take a lot of repair work to handle this. At the same time, James and Cooper had just managed to bring down the remaining Konig Wolves, and Anubis turned his attention to them as they approached. The young man sneered as his zoid flew back into the air, faced them, and opened its mouth wide.

_That Night..._

Shiva lay on her bed, bruised and somewhat in a trance. That psycho in the black Geno Breaker toyed with her! He held back plenty of what that zoid was capable of. No questions about it. It was quick enough to grab her Storm Sworder, and was able to fire a full-powered charged particle beam while airborne. The blast hit Cooper head-on, James managed to dodge the attack and fired at the Breaker, but the Zoid's shield prevented any further damage than what Shiva had done, and picked him off with the side guns. The rest of the team got out with just a few bruises here and there, James and Axel's zoids were still in fairly okay shape, but Cooper's would need some work. Shiva knew her Sworder was done for. It had taken a very painful beating that no zoid like hers could ever make it through. She'd need a new one; a better one at that, if she were going to stand a chance. "Or maybe I'm just not strong enough..." She muttered to herself. "He was a man... and I'm just a girl..."

"Ayane?" She heard her father's voice from outside her closed door. She ignored him and continued to contemplate on the battle and how she'd be able to beat Anubis next time. Until he was defeated, and by her no less, she refused to think of herself as anything special.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	5. Aftertaste

**Chapter 4**

AFTERTASTE

_Black Dragon Base, noon..._

Shiva had remained in her room much of the morning, and only came out for lunch. She had remained disturbingly stoic the whole time. Cooper and James were naturally creeped out by this. Not that Shiva was much of a talker anyway, but this was serious. Axel took it without question and stayed out of it. Kali, who normally stayed at Shiva's side whenever she wasn't piloting, had kept distance from her, sensing a tremendous amount of stress and frustration under that pale skin.

Shiva would wander around a bit, then disappear again just as quickly, not saying a word. Finally, she came to a stop at the Zoid hanger and stared blankly at the heap of twisted metal that was once her Storm Sworder. That freak Anubis in the black Geno Breaker had made fools of her whole team, and did it with little effort aside from minor damages. This guy was also apparently working for the Backdraft group. Shiva hadn't heard much about them aside from rumors, as much of their more notable activities were done on Europa where their central base was rumored to be located. The Nyx division was probably a few bases here and there and a few Whale Kings at most, but considering what her team went up against the other day, it'd be foolish to say they weren't dangerous, especially with a pilot of Anubis' caliber. Shiva knew if she ever got a Zoid again, it'd be no surprise she'd end up facing him again.

_Nyx Backdraft Base, 3:00 PM..._

Anubis wandered through the halls of the base, having left his teammates in the hangar. The damages that Storm Sworder pilot inflicted on his Geno Breaker were going to cost him. A lot. The pilot of that Storm Sworder was good, but not nearly as good as he was. He finally reached a small office, and took a seat in a chair in front of a large desk. Suddenly, a holographic image of a big man with dark gray hair with white streaks running through the sides appeared before him.

"Well, Anubis..." The man began "I see the raid from yesterday was successful?"

Anubis grinned. "Yes, Altail, it certainly was. I wiped out the team whose leader interfered with an earlier extortion. But the only Zoid worth taking was in no shape to bring back here. Unfortunately my Zoid got a taste of that pilot's skill" The young man propped his booted feet up on the desk, his expression hardening. "If you want me to fight any more battles for you, I'll need my Zoid repaired. Cash or the necessary equipment directly distributed works for me. And I KNOW you won't back down on my request. I've seen those laughable excuses for pilots you have stationed in the Europa division."

Altail clenched his fists in frustration. It was degrading having to give into demands like this to keep this... delinquent... working for the Backdraft, but he had no choice. The Count himself had hired this boy and his team to secure their control on Nyx and the Count's orders were not to be defied. "Very well." He said. "You will be granted extra pay this once. But understand our money's starting to tighten. We've been having trouble with a team on Europa that has an Ultimate X Zoid we've been trying to capture..."

Anubis sighed. "Whatever. Just make sure my Zoid gets the repairs it needs"

Altail turned his back to him. "That will be taken care of. I also wish to bring up another matter. The Nyx Royal Zoid Cup Tournament is going to be held in a few weeks. I need you to take care of a few of the less worthy teams as quickly as possible. It simply won't do to have our wealthy spectators be forced to watch our team simply stomp out weakling teams. I also want you to keep an extra close eye on any team that opposes us. This includes the team you fought yesterday. It's only a matter of time before they have new Zoids and are fighting again. Understood?"

Anubis nodded and dropped his feet from the desk and stood up. "Consider it done." Altail's image flickered and vanished, and Anubis turned and left the office and returned to the hangar.

_Black Dragon Base, 4:20 PM..._

Shiva lay propped against the side of her decimated Storm Sworder for what seemed like forever. Defeat meant no prize money, and Storm Sworders were expensive and hard to come by, plus they'd used a lot of the prize money to pay for repair bills for the other three Zoids. Shiva stared up at the ruined Zoid, not a single word leaving her mouth. Eventually she heard footsteps.

"Ayane?" her father said, looking down at her. The purple-haired teen glanced up at him.

"What?" She asked half-heartedly.

"I'm sorry about your Storm Sworder. But it's not the end. I have something I've been working on restoring. A new Zoid."

Shiva's eyes widened slightly. "How? We can't even afford a Rev-Raptor right now."

"I found it in some old ruins when I was parts searching about a year or two ago. It's a very rare Zoid and is clearly very powerful. I kept it at my outpost and have been working on restoring it, but some of the parts that needed replacing are really rare, too so it took me awhile to track them down. I want you to see it."

Shiva, not having anything better to do right now, and plus an urge to get back on the battlefield got her to her feet and tagging along.

_Black Dragon outpost, 5:45 PM..._

Shiva stared in shock at the massive dark shape before her. It was a massive dragonlike Zoid, a little taller then a Geno Saurer, with large red wings and dark gray armor. It had a drill-like structure on the tail-tip, and had a black belly. Its eyes were a deep red. It showed some sighs of still needing some work done to finish fixing it up, but otherwise it was impressive.

"This is the Gunguyarados." Her father explained. "It's very powerful, I can tell. It came with a large and extremely powerful charged particle cannon on the back but it wasn't in any shape to use so I had to remove it. I don't know if it can be restored or if a replacement even exists, but for now I was able to install a mouth one, and an intake vent in the back. I doubt it's nearly as strong as the original, but it should still be good. It also has three forward-facing grenade launchers, an E-shield, and what's most surprising is the thrusters on this thing which indicate a lot of mobility and speed in both ground and air combat, considering its size. But it's not suited for close combat, so if you are to use this thing, try to keep a distance."

Shiva was speechless for a moment, but finally found the words. "Any chance we can finish restoring it soon? I want to get back on the battlefield as soon as possible."

Her father looked over at his daughter. As he thought, her mind was focused on the battlefield more then anything else. He had tried for years to understand his daughter, but something about her seemed impossible to understand fully. If anything it was a serious inferiority complex. But he had no choice but to go along with it. "Possibly. If we start tonight."

Shiva stared into the crimson eyes of the dragonlike Zoid, which seemed to look right back at her. "Then let's make it so."

"This time..." She thought to herself, "There will be no excuses if I fail. I won't botch this up... I won't..."

_Backdraft Base, 6:30 PM..._

Anubis paced back and forth in front of his jet-black Geno Breaker as his teammates were finishing on repairing it. Their König Wolves were still in fairly okay shape; so they didn't need that much time to repair. The Geno Breaker was another story. Removing that Storm Sworder blade from the Zoid was NOT a fun task, and fixing the rest of the damages, especially the hole, would also take some time. That pilot, Shiva, was impressive, despite losing. The battle's tide could have turned if he hadn't been careful. Anubis was a man who learned from his mistakes. No one trashes his Zoid and gets away with it. No way would he let this team make it into the Royal Zoid Cup Tournament. No way.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	6. Restoration

**Chapter 5**

RESTORATION

_Black Dragon Base, Afternoon..._

It had been about 3 days and the dragonlike zoid was nearing complete restoration. More anxious to return to the battlefield before she began to fall out of practice then anything else, Shiva spent hours upon hours at work. Sometimes, when her father was taking a rest, he'd come by and watch her a little before rejoining her. It was like an obsession; Shiva didn't seem to care about the splendor of the severe rareness of this zoid nearly so much as its power being a benefit to future zoid battles. It was almost scary sometimes, like he barely even knew his daughter anymore.

Shiva's teammates had been busy working up the rest of the money they needed to repair their own zoids, as their most recent battle, which had been against that psycho in the black Geno Breaker, was a complete failure. All in all, this would take time.

_Nyx Backdraft Base, Afternoon..._

Anubis stared up at his fully-restored Geno Breaker. It had taken awhile, but the zoid was finally repaired and the damage from that Storm Sworder blade was no longer an issue. The test drive certainly proved everything was operating perfectly again. The commander, Altail, had assigned his team to dispose of a few aspiring teams to keep them out of the Nyx Tournament. And Anubis would most certainly take care of that.

At that thought, he mused to himself. He certainly wasn't doing it for the benefit of the old fart the man worked for. It was all simply about adding to what he considered the two most important things in this world: money and power. Some considered him crazy for thinking that, but Anubis would quickly point out that these are the only two things that will get you anywhere in the world as soon as you've grown up.

His teammates occasionally would suggest he ought to try and get a girlfriend. Anubis never took that comment seriously. He'd much rather have people fear him then oogle over him, and even then it would never last because he always considered women to be awfully shallow. To them, men are no different then toys you could play with for five minutes then toss aside when a cooler, new one comes along. Anubis would then say he was always in control of his life, and commented the last thing he needed was some woman trying to take that control from him. He'd leave it at that.

And speaking of control, he'd definitely be looking forward to facing that team from last time. The leader of that team didn't look like he took defeat easily, and would undoubtedly provide a better challenge next time. "Well..." He thought to himself "We shall see."

_Black Dragon Base, Late Night..._

Finally! After days, it was finally finished. Shiva crossed her arms and stood a couple feet back to examine the handiwork.

Not bad. Her and her father didn't do too bad at all on restoring it, at least from how it looked. The others had restored their Reddlers back to decent shape so the team was looking ready to rejoin the zoid battles. Then the next thing dawned on her; The zoid needed a test drive. The massive dragon zoid's red eyes and perpetual toothy grin seemed to hint some agreement at that thought.

"Well done, Ayane." Her father commented. "I'm very impressed."

Shiva walked up the stairway leading to the open cockpit, her strait face not changing expressions. "Let's see if it impresses me as well." Without another word, she hopped into the open cockpit and activated the zoid as the cockpit closed shut. Her father moved out of the way and opened the hangar door, allowing the Gunguyarados to head out into the training field they owned. The zoid's wings folded and it tore off at an incredibly fast pace on foot for a zoid its size. He remembered the zoid had always been praised for its odd ability to adapt to practically any fighting environment aside from underwater, and thus move incredibly fast for its size on foot. After running around a little, the massive red wings of the zoid unfolded and the zoid lunged into the air. Having most all of her zoid piloting experience be from flying zoids rather then ground ones, which Shiva was only sub-par in. Shiva fared much better in the air, and was able to do many more maneuvers and tricks while airborne. Again, the zoid displayed incredible speed for its size. Aside from use of its claws, teeth, and the drill-like tail tip, weapon testing would have to come later, since they hadn't been able to fit the zoid with new weapons just yet, and the rather powerful charged particle cannon that had formerly been mounted on the zoid's back would take a lot more work to restore. It would need a substitute. And fast. The sooner she was on the battlefield again, the better. She'd never forgive herself if she were to fall behind. After a few more minutes the zoid returned to the ground and walked back into the hanger. It came to a stop and shut off, and the cockpit door opened, and Shiva stepped out and rejoined her father, her expression still unchanged.

"I'm impressed." She said as she headed out of the room to call the ZBC and tell them her team was ready to return to the battlefield.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	7. Second Coming

**Chapter 6**

SECOND COMING

_Black Dragon Base, noon..._

Half a week later, the team was back on its feet. The Redlers that Shiva's teammates piloted had been repaired, the Gunguyarados had been fitted with a substitute charged particle beam and a few grenade launchers (a big necessity since the Zoid didn't seem suitable for close-range combat), and the group had a new battle coming up that Shiva was less then impressed with: A rematch with the Hip Team. Oh joy.

Shiva brooded in the den of the Black Dragon base. She could only hope those idiots from that "team" had improved their fighting technique at least a little. Either that or the ZBC's been letting just anyone in. Then again, the fight she was looking forward to wasn't with them; it would be with who would undoubtably make an appearance at some point in the battle. At this time James entered.

"Shiva? The Whale King's loaded. We're ready to move out," the boy stated.

Shiva stood up and faced him. "Good. Then let's go."

_Battlefield, afternoon..._

This couldn't be happening. It was ridiculous! Shiva and her team were not having a remotely hard time with these clowns this time! Shiva's Gunguyarados had given the Gunsniper substantial damage almost instantly. Not entirely because the dragonlike Zoid was a great deal stronger then a Gunsniper, but because the Gunsniper's pilot tried to ram her! The Iron Kong still managed to put up somewhat of a fight, but there were no signs of improvement since the last fight. Dan couldn't stop bragging about his shiny Command Wolf long enough to actually fight so he spent most of his time dodging everything. Meanwhile the Cannon Tortoise had been replaced with a heavily-armed Red Horn, and was really the only real threat on the battlefield. The pilot was a lucky shot and had managed to score some hits on James and Cooper.

Shiva blasted the Iron Kong with her grenade launchers, then dropped to the ground to get ready to execute the Gunguyarados' charged particle beam, when suddenly...

KABOOM! The Judge was smashed by a familiar black capsule. Everyone turned their attention to the rising black object as it opened up, revealing a familiar black robot. The Redlers piloted by Shiva's teammates landed alongside her Gunguyarados.

"Well, well, well!" the Dark Judge taunted. "If it isn't the team that got their asses handed to them last time we met!" The Dark Judge faced Shiva's Zoid. "And it looks like you got some new toys! The Dark Jackal Team's leader's been looking to have a rematch! Now why don't we get things started?"

At that, a massive Whale King descended from the heavens and opened its mouth. From it a familiar black Geno Breaker emerged, followed closely by several equally familiar black König Wolves, landing in the soft sand below.

"Who are these boors?" Dan demanded angrily "How DARE they interrupt my battle!" The moment he finished that, the Geno Breaker landed in front of his Command Wolf and Anubis' face appeared on his monitor.

"Sorry, rules changed!" the Dark Jackal leader sneered as he blasted Dan's Zoid head-on with a charged particle beam, sending Dan's Zoid flying back a record distance. The pilot of the Iron Kong opened communication with Anubis.

"What the hell are you doing!" she demanded. Anubis smirked cruelly. "I believe you've got your own problems to worry about, little girl!" With that the Geno Breaker lunged forward and grabbed the Kong with its pincher claws. Seconds later, the apelike Zoid no longer had a head and the pilot soon faced a system freeze.

The Geno Breaker turned its head to face the König Wolves and Shiva could hear Anubis shouting out for his men to put the rest of the Hip Team's Zoids out of the fight. The König Wolves took no hesitation to do just that.

Just then, the digital night sky dome appeared over the Black Dragon Team and the Dark Jackal Team, and the two groups faced one another.

"The Black Dragon Team vs. the Dark Jackal Team!" the Dark Judge began. "Battle Mode 0999! Ready...FIGHT!" Then all hell broke loose.

The Geno Breaker started the fight by shooting out one of its grappler claws at the Gunguyarados, but Shiva's Zoid jumped out of the way just in time, and all the claw got was a handful of sand. Anubis appeared on her screen, smirking. "So, we meet again! I've been wanting to have a rematch with you! Good thing I hacked into the ZBC's upcoming battles or I may not have found you."

"Save it, Anubis." the purple-haired girl answered as her Gunguyarados landed back on the ground. "And let's continue this."

The Gunguyarados opened fire on the Geno Breaker with its grenade launchers, but the Breaker activated its shield and successfully repelled the attacks. The T-Rex-like Zoid rose into the air and charged forward at incredible speed, ramming the Gunguyarados and sending the dragonlike Zoid tumbling backward. Afterward, the Breaker landed in front of the Gunguyarados. The black T-Rex Zoid's foot anchors slammed into the ground, the intake fan activated, and the charged particles began to gather. The Gunguyarados stood back up and took to the air just in time to avoid getting hammered by the beam. Anubis pounded his console furiously. "Why... won't... you... stay... DOWN?" he shouted as he had his Zoid's foot anchors retract and Anubis' Zoid took to the air to join the Gunguyarados for an air battle.

Down below, the Redlers battled it out with the König Wolves, who were all equipped to take on airborne Zoids. Axel had managed to take one of them out, but Cooper and James still had their hands full with their opponents. The enemy pilots seemed more skilled then before, their shots cutting closer, and occasionally getting a hit. Cooper's Zoid wound up taking a hit to the wing which restricted him to ground battle. James and Axel remained in the air and double-teamed one of the other König Wolves, but a well- aimed shot put Axel's Zoid out of the fight.

Back up in the air, the Gunguyarados and Geno Breaker clashed. Sometimes ramming one-another, other times firing. Despite Geno Breakers being known for their destructive power, it was becoming more and more evident that the Gunguyarados was gaining the advantage, being more suited for air combat. Anubis tried several times to snare the dragon Zoid with the Breaker's grappler claws, but no success. He then attempted to fire a charged particle beam at her. It was too late before he realized his mistake in underestimating the Gunguyarados' air speed. Shiva whirled her Zoid around the Breaker, got behind it, and before the Breaker could turn around, opened fire.

Anubis stared in utter shock as one of the pincher claws and one of the arms fell from his Zoid and plummeted to the ground. The damage caused the Zoid's charging CPC to fizzle out. He barely had time to react to either of these facts when Shiva's Gunguyarados impaled the Zoid in the stomach with its drill tail. A blank look came over his face as the Zoid dropped to the ground with a crash, and he stared at the command system freeze before him, not a single word leaving his mouth.

At this time, Cooper and James had managed to finish off the remaining König Wolf, which then fell to the ground in defeat.

It was then that Shiva's Zoid landed in front of the Dark Judge, glaring at it with its fierce red eyes. The Dark Judge was furious, stomping on his platform and waving his hands madly. Finally, with a mechanical sigh, he spoke. "The winner is...the Black Dragon Team. You will receive your prize money shortly..."

_Black Dragon Whale King, late afternoon..._

Shiva sat in the Whale King's spacious den, completely quiet. As pleased as she was that she'd manage to overcome Anubis, there were still bigger fish to fry. The Nyx Royal Cup Tournament wasn't that far away. While winning an unsanctioned battle did score her team a good amount of points from the ZBC and push them up the ranks, she could only hope to make it as far as the tournament. The best of the best will be there, and it would take more then luck or powerful Zoids to win that.

Her train of thought would have carried on further had James and Cooper not come in asking about dinner. From the looks on their faces, and the incredible amount of prize money the Backdraft supplied them, Shiva could tell they had something expensive and restaurant-based in mind.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	8. Fallen

**Chapter 7**

FALLEN

_Nyx Backdraft Base, night..._

Anubis stormed from the hangar, that last fight had left a bitter taste in his mouth. He hadn't just been defeated. He'd been _completely_ humiliated! His Geno Breaker was a wreak, and chances where he'd need a new Zoid if he were to participate in the Tournament. No matter what measures he took first, some things just can't be avoided. His musings continued as he entered the lounge where his men quietly ate. "Boys... let's go out." he said as he picked up some keys. He knew perfectly well that on Nyx, when a team wins a handsome sum of prize money, there's only one place they can be at this time of night...

_Guylos City, night..._

Shiva, Axel, James, and Cooper sat at a decent table of one of the most expensive restaurants on Nyx, and arguably the most popular. The food was great, and the music that played wasn't too bad, though Shiva was never a fan of classical. James and Cooper were plenty happy, enjoying their food. Axel ate his food quietly. The rate he was eating, though, was an indication he was satisfied as well. Shiva herself finished the grilled shrimp she ordered and pulled out the money while waiting for the check. While she felt she could be putting her time to better use, such as honing her skills for the upcoming tournament, it was still essential she meet her team's needs in the meantime. Plus she had Kali waiting outside and didn't want her waiting all night. She leaned back in her seat a little, thoughts flying through her mind. A lot of which were focused on Anubis. Despite the nasty defeat Shiva had given him, there was little chance that would be the last she'd see of him. But the question was how soon? He'd most certainly find a way to still make an appearance at the Tournament, and likely he'd have a new Zoid. She needed to be ready for anything. Finally, everyone was finished, and the check arrived. Shiva got up and headed off to pay it. Axel sat quietly and waited while James and Cooper got caught up in a conversation about their victory.

"Who'd have thought victory could pay off this well?" Cooper said proudly.

"Yeah, maybe we oughta face the Backdraft more often." James replied, a hint of sarcasm.

"These guys may not play by the rules of the ZBC, but boy, the money they give out if you win..."

"Tell me about it." Cooper said. "Plus with idiots like the Hip Team frolicking about, they're one of the few teams that's gonna be any challenge till the Tournament. What's your opinion on the subject, Axel" He added, glancing at the big man. Axel just nodded.

"The meal was expensive." James added. "But we still have plenty left. But for what?" Around this time, Shiva came back. The group decided to leave their conversation for another time as they all got up and headed outside. What happened next, they never would have seen coming...

The four had just gotten Kali after they stepped out the door, afterwards heading up the road and finally reaching the parking lot that was a block away from the restaurant itself. As the group turned to head for their parked Zoids, there, in front of them, sitting on motorcycles, were Anubis and his men. The Dark Jackal leader grinned.

"Well, I had a feeling you guys would be here." He said. "Would have been disappointed if I were wrong, I mean, this is practically the place to be when you've got a lot of prize money!"

Shiva glared at him, setting down Kali. "What do you want, Anubis?"

The man dismounted his motorcycle, followed by his men and approached the group. "I want..." Anubis began. "To make sure that things continue to go my way. Unfortunately, with you around, some things... can't... go my way. So I'll have to change that!" With that, he delivered a punch to Shiva's stomach before she even had a chance to stop him, knocking the wind out of her and sending her to the ground. The others quickly rushed forward to intervene, but Anubis immediately pulled a gun on them, causing all of them to come to a stop. Kali had long ago been trained to stay back when a gun was pointed at her. "Take one step closer, and each of you gets a bullet to the head!" Anubis said. The tone in his voice indicating he was deadly serious. Anubis took a few steps back, his gun still trained on them. The three didn't seem sure of what to do.

"Just... do... what he says..." Shiva said, having trouble talking while trying to catch her breath. "You're my responsibility..." She managed to stand back up. "Anubis, if you have a problem, you can settle it with me."

Anubis grinned a cruel grin. "I was hoping it could go this way! Boys!" At their call, Anubis's men trained their guns on Shiva's teammates to keep them in place while Anubis himself walked over to Shiva and knocked her to the ground again before she could react. This time though, her shirt slid up, revealing the white tape she wore underneath to conceal her figure, and Anubis's eyes widened in surprise as he put two and two together.

"I don't believe this..." He said slowly, anger rising. "I was beaten... _by a girl_!" He said furiously as he delivered a strong kick to Shiva's side, bruising her with the metal plate of his boot. He then began to circle her, like a vulture gliding over carrion. "I am a highly feared mercenary hired by the Nyx Backdraft division. People were _afraid_ of me! And then some... girl... comes along and humiliates me on the battlefield!" he shouted at her, delivering a blow to her other side, this one worse then the last. "Beating down on a girl gives me _some_ satisfaction, but not enough..." He said, examining Shiva's face for any tears. "Pity, I was hoping I'd see you cry. Now_ that's_ satisfaction. Seeing a girl cry, and moreso if it's because of me. Let's them know who's in charge, and that a battlefield is, simply put... No place for a GIRL!" he said loudly, flipping Shiva over and pressing his boot down on her back.

"When are you females gonna learn that? When you lose, it's 'cause you're weak. When you win, you just got lucky, but it doesn't make the bad aftertaste of defeat any worse for me!" He then pressed the barrel of his gun to Shiva's head. Shiva had remained quiet the whole time. Her body ached from the abuse Anubis had given her, and it felt even worse what Anubis was going to do if the others try to intervene. As Anubis prepared to pull the trigger, he heard shouting from behind him, and suddenly, a sharp pain in his leg. Anubis cried out in pain and shook his leg, staring down at the monitor lizard that had just bit him. With a sharp kick he sent the lizard skidding back a few feet, and turned and faced Shiva as she struggled to just get up, but her strength had abandoned her. But she was able to turn her head enough to see Anubis form a very, very cruel smirk she'd never forget.

"Looks like you've got some friends who don't know how to stay put." He said, Shiva begun to get increasingly frightened. She already knew what Anubis had in mind but there was no way she could stop him now. "Seems to know what attack means. What can I teach her? How about... PLAY DEAD!"

Shiva's eyes widened in absolute horror as Anubis pulled the trigger and a spray of blood erupted from Kali's chest. The lizard cried out and fell forward, unable to stand up. Anubis laughed at the sight, his cruel grin never left his face as he fired two more times. When the third shot was fired, Kali's lifeless body dropped to the ground, blood pooling around her. Anubis' sadistic laughter filled the parking lot. "Now that… was satisfying." He said, his arms raised as he turned in a circle, glancing up at the sky. He then leaned down and pulled Shiva up so they were face-to-face. "I'll see you at the tournament. In the meantime, have fun attending to your little casualty. Just be glad I'm sparing your life this time, you weak little bitch!"

He whacked her across the head with the butt of his gun, knocking her unconscious. With that, he stood up, and got back on his motorcycle as a storm began to brew up in the sky. He gestured to his men and they followed, keeping their guns trained on Shiva's teammates until they were all on. With that, Anubis started up his motorcycle, laughing cruelly, and the four of them sped off.

As soon as they were gone, James and Cooper rushed to Shiva's aid while Axel picked up Kali. Rain fell around them as James and Cooper carried her to their car and sat her in the back. Cooper could only stare, shocked. James checked Shiva's pulse while Axel put Kali's body next to her, wrapped in towels.

Axel checked the car for a city map to find the hospital, got a marker from the glove compartment, and drew a line connecting from where the restaurant was to the hospital was. He took to the wheel and started up the car and they drove off. James and Cooper could only stare down at their unconscious leader, hoping for the best...

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	9. Rebirth

**Chapter 8**

**REBIRTH**

_Guylos City Hospital, night…_

"Will she be okay?" James asked, or rather, demanded.

"She's been pretty badly bruised up, but she should pull through" the doctor replied. "Now how exactly did this happen?"

James flinched. He didn't want to imagine what Anubis would do to them if he got the law involved. Unless the ZBC got involved somehow, there was little or no chance that psychopath could be brought to justice, considering he had the Backdraft standing at his side. And even if the ZBC got involved, it's not like they've been able to catch the Backdraft yet, so what did that say about them? "There was an accident." James said finally. "We were attacked by a gang. They had guns… their leader had a vendetta with her. She told us to stay back…"

Around this time Cooper walked into the room. "I called her father. He said he's coming."

After the doctor left to wait for him and bring him the news, James and Cooper sat themselves on a nearby bench, looks of worry and disbelief crossing their faces.

"Think she'll be okay?" Cooper asked.

"The doctor said she got pretty banged up, but she should make it" James replied.

"I'm not talking about the physical injuries. Did you see her face when that maniac shot Kali? He killed something that mattered a lot to her, just to hurt her... and she couldn't do a thing to stop him."

At this time, Axel walked over, holding a newspaper he was reading. "There may be something we can do…" he said quietly, showing them the article.

_Guylos City Hospital, morning…_

Everything was dark, with brief images flashing here and there, but all of them too quick for Shiva to make out. A prisoner within her own mind, Shiva then witnessed over and over again the horrible experience from earlier. Anubis laughing, Kali falling lifelessly to the ground, her teammates watching helplessly with guns trained on them. When she watched helplessly as Anubis brought an abrupt end to Kali's life. Anubis was looming over her, ready to end her life as well. "Helpless….." escaped her mouth. The images repeated themselves, but in reverse. As though her mind wished to see if she had made a mistake during the course of what happened. Suddenly it all faded white.

Shiva awoke to find herself in a hospital bed. After examining her surroundings, and noticing some discomfort on her left arm, she quickly removed the sharp needle which had been imbedded there and sat up. Her body still felt a little sore from the beating, but most of the bruises were fading. Finding the strength to stand, she climbed out of the bed and wandered around the room a little.

The hospital gown she'd been fitted with had replaced everything she had on before. This became more evident when she reached the full-length mirror in the room and examined herself.

Her dark purple hair was down, now just touching her shoulders. The lack of the bulky masculine clothes as well as the absence of the bindings she wore to further conceal her figure made her look slimmer, more… feminine.

Feminine. Female. Girl. Weakness. That's what she saw looking back at her. Her outer shell she had placed around her to guard from that had been stripped of her, and all that was left now was what she had spent her life denying was there; a scared, insecure young girl named Ayane Makino.

All these facts overwhelmed her, causing her to collapse to the floor, but she could not take her eyes off her reflection. At that girl she barely knew, or tried to deny the existence of. Now she couldn't. Seeing herself there, weak, scared. It all brought back what she'd seen in her dreams.

_FLASH!_ Anubis standing over her, laughing…

_FLASH!_ Cooper, James, and Axel being herded back and forced to watch…

_FLASH!_ Anubis training his gun on Kali, the cruel pleasure he took in taking the monitor lizard's life, and she couldn't do anything to stop him…

_FLASH!_ Anubis, again, standing over her laughing…

_FLASH!_ Kali's lifeless body striking the ground when Anubis fired his final shot…

Then she remembered what Anubis had said to her. His words biting deep into her…

"A battlefield is, simply put…. No place for a GIRL!"

"When are you females gonna learn that? When you lose, it's 'cause you're weak. When you win, you just got lucky"

"Just be glad I'm sparing your life this time, you weak little BITCH!"

The girl brought her knees to her chest and lowered her head, falling into a sitting fetal position, The words constantly running through her mind.

"Well, aren't you a sight?" A familiar, cruel voice said to her.

She snapped to attention and looked at the mirror. Standing behind her own reflection, she could see Anubis, grinning his cruel grin and looking down at the girl in the mirror, as though he were standing in the room, right behind her. It wasn't him, but that part of her mind that called her weak for so long had chosen a form that, after last night could intimidate her with little trouble.

"What do you think you can do, Ayane?" He asked her. "Think you stand a prayer of a chance against me in the tournament?"

"You want me there…" she said quietly, continuing to look at the mirror

"Yes, I do want you there…" Anubis replied. "You may not believe it, but you've got a strength I can't ignore. Or maybe it's just a stubborn side that needs to be slapped. I know you're not just gonna let what I did to your precious pet slide."

"I won't." She slowly stood up, her expression hardening as she didn't take her eyes off the mirror, watching her reflection stand up with her, and the image of Anubis taking a few steps back, surprised. "You've taken away a lot that mattered to me that night. I'll at least make sure you… or anyone else… don't take what's left." She said sternly, watching as Anubis' reflection faded and disappeared.

And then she awoke.

Shiva found herself alone in the room again, still in front of the mirror. She looked at her reflection, and stood back up. Around this time, the door opened, and her teammates, her father, and the doctor came in.

"Oh, god…" James and Cooper said simultaneously, resisting the urge to run over and hug her.

"She should be able to leave today. She just needs some more rest till the soreness goes down. I just need you to sign some things" The doctor said, leading Shiva's father to the waiting room.

"Oh… we got something for you." Cooper began "It took all what was left of the prize money from before to afford it…" He turned and faced Axel, who came in with a strange black box of some kind, and pushed a button. Shiva's eyes widened when a holographic image of Kali appeared above the box, sleeping.

"A new technology used for pets who are sick or have recently died. They can be converted into something called "Anizoids"." James explained. At this time, the anizoid Kali woke up and looked at Shiva, recognizing her instantly and wanting to be held. Axel handed the box to Shiva, who was left speechless. "They can assist in zoid piloting as well. Kind of like those organoid creatures that supposedly went extinct long ago. I can imagine Kali would like to get a shot at that jerk."

"Thank you…" Shiva responded quietly, taking the box and holding it tightly. Anubis would pay for what he did. He would not take anything else from her. "When we get home, we have work to do."

**TO BE CONTINUED….**


	10. The Nyx Tournament

**Chapter 9**

**THE NYX TOURNAMENT**

_Black Dragon base, morning…_

It had taken a lot of work, but the Black Dragon Team had managed to train rigorously and make the deadline to enter the Nyx Division Zoid Cup Tournament. Shiva had spent time training in piloting her Zoid with Kali, while the others honed their piloting skills with their Redlers. What was waiting for them would be the biggest test they'd faced yet, and Shiva had no intention of letting Anubis get away with all he'd done to her.

Plowing through several teams had given them plenty of prize money to keep going, and Shiva had treated them to a big breakfast they'd undoubtedly need for what awaited.

"We've come too far, we're not gonna lose!" Cooper said proudly.

"So have all the others." James replied. "No doubt all of them are going to be playing pretty rough to win this." He seemed slightly worried, which earned him a glare from Shiva.

The purple-haired girl sat in her chair, finishing her breakfast. James' comment couldn't be truer. There'd be plenty of opponents out there, all of them anxious to meet the same goal. Indeed, this would be their greatest challenge yet...

_Nyx Battlefield, day…_

Shiva sat within the cockpit of her Gunguyarados, joined by three Redlers, with Kali on her lap. All around her she could see numerous teams with Zoids of various types. They were… EVERYWHERE!

"Where is he…?" Shiva inquired rather impatiently. Her team had gotten there early to beat some of the crowd. She'd also heard that the Zoid Cup Tournament on Europa was commencing as well, but she could only guess at how that was going. But that didn't really matter. What mattered right now was all right here…

At this time, the Judge Capsule landed, and opened wide, revealing the small white robot.

"Scanning area…" the Judge said calmly. "Welcome, Zoid teams, to the Nyx Division Royal Zoid Cup Tournament! This will be the final test to see who reaches the honored rank of Class S. The rules are simple, What ever teams reach the finish line first are the winners! The finish point will remain hidden from each team until that team has completed 5 wins. Area Scanned! Battle Mode 1001! Ready…… FIGHT!"

Then total chaos ensued.

_Nyx Battlefield, 30 minutes later…_

The battle was more intense then anything the team had ever faced before. Enemy Zoids just came in at all corners and the Black Dragon Team was taking them out left and right, doing all they could to avoid sustaining too much damage. Shiva had just now received the information on the location of the finish line for her and her team managing to take out 5 teams, and opened communication with all of them. "I've got the location of the finish line down. We're gonna plow through these guys and make it there. Whatever happens, DON'T lose track of one-another. Understood?"

"It's gonna be tough, the air is packed with enemies!" James started.

"That's an ORDER, James." Shiva answered sternly.

"Well, let's do this, then!" James shouted as they fought off some more enemies.

Shiva nodded, then turned her Gunguyarados to face west and flew off. The three Redlers piloted by James, Cooper, and Axel swerved around and followed.

_Elsewhere on the battlefield…_

"Mayday! Mayday!" We need backup!" a ZBC Gojulas pilot shouted through his intercom as he battled a Zoid that seemed like something from a nightmare.

"Look around you…" the enemy pilot's voice answered cruelly. "All your friends are… shall we say… detained?" The enemy pilot laughed maniacally. He was right. Surrounding them was what looked like a graveyard. Gojulas, Godos, and a few other Zoids, all brutally dismembered or facing system freezes. Standing around them, as though feasting off fresh kills, were three black König Wolves.

"By order of the Nyx Backdraft Group, we're taking this game to a whole new level…" The enemy pilot taunted as his Zoid approached. All the ZBC official saw before his Zoid went down was a flash of scythe-like blades…

The pilot let out another merciless laugh. "Alright, boys. MOVE OUT!" The nightmare Zoid took to the air and sped off, followed by the three black König Wolves.

_Nyx Battlefield, afternoon…_

Clouds began to gather as Shiva's team relentlessly plowed forward, taking out every enemy Zoid they came across. The finish was only a few miles ahead, and about a mile up from there. Suddenly, the group got an unexpected welcome from four enemy Zoids. Shiva parked her Zoid, recognizing them right away.

"Ha-ha!" Dan taunted in an unnervingly shiny blue Blade Liger. A pink Snipe Master was at his side, along with a familiar Red Horn and Iron Kong. Shiva shook her head in disbelief. Did they use up their parents' credit cards to buy those new Zoids? Shiva didn't want to know. It was as mind-numbing a question as how the hell these 4 stooges could have possibly reached Class A.

"Face the might of the Hip Team!" Jess taunted, charging her Snipe Master forward.

The Zoid never made it. It was suddenly bombarded by what looked like a bright red charged particle beam. The girl's terrified scream filled everyone's communications as all the Zoids turned to face the source of the attack, but there was nothing there.

Suddenly, a large black shape landed between the Red Horn, Iron Kong, and Blade Liger. Then, the black Zoid turned to face Shiva.

It was terrifying. Jet-black in color, with glowing red eyes. It stood on its T-Rexlike hind legs, and also had T-Rexlike arms as well, though they were longer then a Geno Saurer's or a Geno Breaker's. Its torso was somewhat sleek, with two fin thrusters of some kind on its back. It had a long neck, and a dragon's tail, with a sharp silvery blade at the end of it. Its head was triangular, like a pterodactyl's head, but with three silvery bladelike horns on its head. It had several guns on its chest, and two on each leg. On its shoulders were two long, slender arms, which ended in sadistic-looking scythe blades. Both of which were aimed at Shiva's Zoid.

The remaining Hip Team members attempted to battle the intruder, but it was no use. The black zoid impaled the Red Horn, then blasted the Iron Kong relentlessly, and finished it by impaling the Blade liger through the chest with its scythe arms. Then, the scythes spread themselves and unfolded, forming large, bladelike wings, slashing the Zoid clean in half. Shiva could only stare in shock at the brutal display, and already knew perfectly well who the owner of that Zoid was.

A voice Shiva knew all too well laughed sadistically from the intercom of the Zoid. "Like the demonstration?" The communication window opened, revealing Anubis, who looked more then eager to start the fight. "I'd like to introduce you to my new Zoid, the Geno Reaper, a product of my genius and some state-of-the-art Backdraft technology on my downed Geno Breaker. I see you've got some new tricks too; your lizard isn't as dead as I hoped she'd be. I've heard about those things. Anizoids, I believe. It won't do you any good, though. If you plan to reach that finish line, you'll have to go through us first!"

At this time three familiar black König Wolves joined the Geno Reaper, growling at the Black Dragon Team's Zoids. Anubis smirked sadistically. "I'm gonna take such sweet, sweet pleasure in putting you in your place, little girl!"

Shiva glared at the smirking young man. He'd taken so much from her. Shiva got her Zoid ready to take to the air. Anubis would pay for all that he's done. Her Zoid crouched down, and then leapt into the air. Anubis' Zoid followed, and at that moment, the ultimate battle between the two rivals begun…

**TO BE CONTINUED….**


	11. Showdown

**Chapter 10**

**SHOWDOWN**

_Nyx Battlefield, afternoon…_

While Shiva battled the misogynistic madman in the air, her teammates had their hands full with the other members of the Dark Jackal Team. The Konig Wolves were faster then ever, and armed with new anti-aircraft weaponry and thrusters to allow them to jump higher. The Geno Reaper itself proved a truly formidable adversary as it swerved and dodged Shiva's attacks all too easily and countered.

"What's the matter, Shiva? Not man enough to face me?" Anubis taunted.

The taunts managed to bite through enough that Anubis' overconfidence made him pay when his Zoid felt the full impact from a round from the Gunguyarados' grenade launchers. Though it shook the Geno Reaper a bit, and did some damage, the Reaper's tough armor prevented any especially severe damage. Anubis smirked.

"You know, Shiva, as tough as your Zoid may be…" he began. "…It hits like a girl. Let me show you what a REAL Zoid can do!" The intake vent on the Reaper's back begun to draw in energy; twice as much as a Geno Breaker's, but all in the same amount of time. Shiva barely had the chance to move out of the way of a charged particle beam tough enough to compare to the Death Stinger's in power. The beam left a long, deep ditch, and traveled far enough to cause a decent amount of damage to one of the nearby mountains. The beam grazed her Zoid, damaging one of its wings and sending it falling, but before the Gunguyarados could hit the ground, something snagged it. Looking up, Shiva saw that the Geno Reaper had grabbed her Zoid with its extending claws.

"How's about we take this to a more appropriate location?" Anubis asked, and his Geno Reaper sped toward the mountains, pulling Shiva's Gunguyarados along with it.

Meanwhile, Shiva's teammates were sustaining damage from the modified König Wolves Anubis' men piloted. Getting an idea, James flew his Redler low and right between two of the König Wolves, then flew up at just the right moment. The two enemy Zoids ended up shooting one-another in the head. One of them was grazed, the other hit point-blank and collapsing into a command system freeze. James grinned. Three against two. The odds were in their favor now. He would have savored this more if a blow from the still-functional König Wolf didn't hit his Zoid dead-on and leave him with a command system freeze as well.

Thunder started to rumble as the Gunguyarados and the Geno Reaper continued their battle at the mountainside. Still tethered to the Geno Reaper, the Gunguyarados wasn't able to do much except attempt to dodge some of the Reaper's nastier close-range attacks. Tiring of this, Anubis slammed the Gunguyarados onto a nearby cliff and descended on it, raising its foot, ready to crush it, a blow fully intended to defeat the Zoid and kill the pilot inside. Anubis laughed triumphantly. "I was hoping it'd end this way. See you in hell, sweetie!" He shouted out as he prepared to bring his Zoid's foot down.

At this moment, Kali chose to use as much control as she had over Shiva's Zoid as possible to fire every round it had at the Geno Reaper's chest, causing it to stumble back. Shiva stared down at the anizoid in amazement as it enabled the Gunguyarados to stand again. Anubis, meanwhile, looked a little surprised, and shrugged a little. "The bitch just doesn't know when to quit…" He muttered. The wings of his Zoid folded into scythes again, and prepared to rip and slash as he caused the grappling claw to reel Shiva's Zoid in.

"NOW!" Shiva shouted to Kali as they simultaneously activated the Gunguyarados' thrusters, causing it to charge forward at Anubis' Geno Reaper at full speed. Anubis' eyes widened in shock, and didn't have the time to move out of the way when Shiva's Zoid smashed into his head-on, and drove its claws into the Reaper's head.

"No… No…. NO!" Anubis screamed out furiously as his Zoid faced a command system freeze.

The Gunguyarados had exhausted its weaponry, and pretty much all it'd be able to do for awhile is walk and climb, with the wing damage that it sustained from battle. Shiva took a few deep breaths as she calmed down, wiping some sweat from her forehead. Kali's image flickered a little, but was still present.

Back below, Axel and Cooper had managed to defeat the König wolf that took out James's Zoid, and now it was two against one. Despite the heavy damage they received, the remaining Zoid was no match for a team attack.

Cooper watched as the last König Wolf fell to the ground, defeated. "We did it…." Cooper said softly. "We did it!" He shouted proudly. He turned at the sound of approaching Zoids. Not enemy Zoids, but ZBC Zoids.

"Dark Jackal Team, you're under arrest. Come out of your Zoids at once!" a Gojulas declared as about twenty-something Godos trained their guns on the König Wolves. The dinosaur Zoid turned its head a little, then opened communication with the Black Dragon Team's Zoids.

"Wasn't there a fourth member for both teams?" The ZBC officer asked.

Cooper and Axel turned their Zoids to face the mountains, where the supposed finish line was, along with Shiva and Anubis….

Shiva stood up, opened her Zoid, and climbed out to examine her surroundings. The finish line was at the top of that mountain. All she had to do was get her Zoid to the top and her team would officially have made it to Class S.

A sudden shot rang out. Shiva turned to face Anubis, standing atop her Zoid's closed cockpit. Blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth, and in his hand was a gun. The same gun he once used to kill Kali. The wind made his long black coat billow, giving him a demonic appearance. He was glaring at Shiva, pure hatred in his eyes.

"You've humiliated me…" He said coldly, gesturing the gun wildly. "Did you really think you could walk away from that! Well let me tell, you; you have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy watching you die." His cruel grin reappeared on his face. "Nowhere to run." He said softly as he raised the gun, aiming right for Shiva's heart. Shiva stood there quietly, then something caught her eye. There, by her foot, was the manual opening hatch that covered the switch to open the Zoid's cockpit. Without hesitation, Shiva kicked the hatch open and dropped down right as Anubis fired his round and slammed her fist hard on the now exposed switch.

Suddenly, the cockpit under Anubis' feet began to rise, all too quickly and causing him to stumble backward, unable to maintain his footing. Screaming, he slid off the Zoid, over the side of the cliff, and down to the jagged rocks far below.

Shiva barely had time to react when she saw several Pteras and a Storm Sworder descend around her, as well as Cooper and Axel's Redlers. James' was towed along by two other Pteras. Her zoid's communication window opened, revealing a ZBC official.

"Shiva Makino?" The official called to her.

"Yes." The purple-haired girl answered, climbing back into her cockpit.

"The finish line is just a climb away. Are you up to it?" the official asked.

Shiva closed the cockpit as Kali climbed back onto her lap. "I am."

The Gunguyarados stood back up, and grabbed the Geno Reaper's grappling claw still imbedded in its chest, and tore it out. The damaged Zoid carried itself up the side of the mountain, Shiva strained as she and Kali gave it their all to bring the Zoid to the top. Finally, reaching the edge, the Gunguyarados made it to the mountain's summit.

The Zoid then stood as straight as it could in its damaged state, and the cockpit opened again, and Shiva climbed out, carrying Kali's R.U.

"Congratulations, Black Dragon Team! Class S is yours!" The ZBC official declared.

**4 years later**

Shiva stared at her reflection. Those memories had been the most important ones to her. That battle with Anubis could have easily gone either way. Had he stopped that blow, she would have lost. Was she stronger then him, or was it just luck?

"Shiva?" James said, knocking on Shiva's door. The girl turned and opened the door.

"What?" She asked, not entirely pleased with her train of thought being interrupted.

"ZBC called, they've scheduled a new battle for us. It'll be in a couple days." James replied.

"Some team called the Venom Team. Class S. We up for it?" The boy asked.

Shiva considered this. She looked over at Kali, who was sleeping peacefully on her bed, then back at James. "Yes. We are."

**THE END…**


End file.
